 ABBOTT ANSEL ADAMS ROBERT ADAMS ALVAREZ BRAVO ARBUS ATGET BELLOCQ BLOSSFELDT BOURKE-WHITE BRANDT BRASSAÏ CALLAHAN CAMERON COBURN CUNNINGHAM DeCARAVA DOISNEAU EGGLESTON EVANS FRIEDLANDER GOWIN GUTMANN HINE KARSH KERTÉSZ KLEIN KOUDELKA LANGE LARTIGUE LAUGHLIN LEVITT MAPPLETHORPE MEATYARD MODEL MODOTTI MUYBRIDGE NADAR NEWMAN O'SULLIVAN OUTERBRIDGE PARKS PENN RIIS RODCHENKO SALGADO SHERMAN SHORE SMITH SOMMER STEICHEN STIEGLITZ STRAND TALBOT UELSMANN WALDMAN WATKINS WEEGEE WESTON WHITE WINOGRAND WOLLEH |
  Text from The Encyclopedia of Photography (1986)
Koudelka, Josef Josef Koudelka is known for his highly formalized, sensitive images of the vestiges of gypsy life. Since 1962 he has traveled and extensively documented gypsies in Eastern Europe, England, Ireland, France, and Spain. Entirely independent, constantly on the move like the people he photographs, Koudelka has never accepted magazine or commercial assignments. He has worked for many years without a permanent darkroom, amassing a large backlog of images he has yet to print. His work has focused consistently on the community rituals of everyday life, birth, marriage, and death. Koudelka was born in Boskovice, Moravia (Czechoslovakia). He received a degree in aeronautical engineering from the Technical University, Prague, in 1961, and worked as an engineer from 1961 to 1967. His first exhibition was held in Prague in 1961. He began to photograph his series on gypsy life soon after. From 1962 to 1970 Koudelka was a freelance photographer specializing in theater photography. He worked for the Divaldo Theatre, Prague, and was the official photographer of Theatre zu Branou from 1965 to 1970. His later work is clearly rooted in this theatrical training ground. Not only has he been concerned with gypsy social life and cultural rituals (especially musical performances), but he has photographed the same activities many times as though he were still shooting dramatic performances. Koudelka made his first trip to England in 1961. Leaving Czechoslovakia permanently in 1970, he lived in England from 1970 to 1980. He joined Magnum in 1971 and has enjoyed a close working relationship with Henri Carrier-Bresson. Koudelka was a member of the Czechoslovakian Union of Artists from 1965 to 1970, and was the recipient of their Annual Award for Theatre Photography in 1967. He received the Robert Capa Memorial Award in 1970, the Prix Nadar in 1978, and a United States National Endowment for the Arts Photography Grant in 1980. In 1976 he was awarded a grant by the British Arts Council to document the disappearing gypsy life in England. In recent years he has photographed religious and other festivities and everyday life in Great Britain and Europe. He has lived in France for the last several years.
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